Professional Photography Career Guide

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Specialization - Commercial Photography vs. Retail Photography

Professional Photographers usually fall into one of two categories, depending on the market that they serve.  Either you serve the retail market or you serve the commercial market.  Either you customers are families or they are companies.  I’m not saying that you can’t market to both categories, I’m just saying that most photographers concentrate on just one of those two markets.

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Specialization in Photography

One thing you may not realize when you’re giving thought to become a professional photographer…  Most photographers, just starting out, do not specialize in just one type of photography.  You may want to become a food photographer, but the reality is that there is probably not enough work out there in your chosen specialty, to support and new-comer.   A specialty is something your work your way into.  The key is to survive long enough in the industry to develop your skills so that you can eventually narrow your focus down to the type of photography you like the best. 

When you first begin as a professional, you will most likely be in a financial position where you will take any job that comes your way, just to pay the rent or to buy some new equipment. If you want to specialize in pet portraits, and you’re just starting out, chances are that you will not pass an opportunity to shoot a wedding or two.  And the same goes with commercial photography.  If you eventually want to be a food photographer and some Ad agency asks you to shoot some building for them, chances are, you’ll jump and the chance to get your foot in the door and to get some much needed working capital.

After you establish a solid client base and some good cash flow, that’s when you will want to concentrate on seeking the types of clients that most interest you.  Yes, you will need to pursue new clients, but those clients will be a little harder to entice and you will need the cash flow from your “established” clients to tide you over until you can establish a new specialized client base.  Even then, you may want to retain those old, non-specialized clients.  You might find that your specialty gets to be a little boring after a while, and the non-specialty work serves as a welcome diversion.